Author's Note: After completing the Novel Jekyll and Hyde for class I thought a good topic to take from the story was the importance of identity.
Two eyes, a nose, a mouth and two ears; it's the identity for which the average person is recognized. A simple combination of biology creating a face that we are all seen and known by. However; identity doesn't end at the face but rather flows through the soul and integrity of an individual, encompassing character, values, lifestyle and much more. To some they may be identified by a number. A simple stopping place in the infinite world of numbers. Whether they be a famous sports star or a lowly inmate at the prison that number defines them and gives others the ability to identify that person. If you were to get close enough to a person you may learn about their past, their influences and childhood that is still defining and changing them today. Identities change the farther you travel into an individuals life.
A clear example of the power of identity can be found in the life of Henry Jekyll. He found himself in the predicament of being the owner of multiple identities after he changed his life forever by indulging in the magical powers of his secret potion. He discovered what it was to live a life of evil and darkness and found it entirely addicting. He took the blow of the consequences head on and even Jekyll himself wrote "I was slowly losing hold of my original and better self"(114). Such is a testament to the destructive nature of such a life.
If a man himself does not know who he is and what he stands for deep down and has defaced himself beyond recognition what does he retain? For a fugitive on the run it may mean freedom but to what do you return? Your identity is your connection to the rest of the world and without it one might as well be asking for complete loss of their mind. Who you are and are known for depends on you retaining the proper identity. When evil oozes through the cracks in the barriers that we all put up, some might simply eliminate it over and over. However; if you become covered in that black slime it is very difficult to return to a life of hope and a future. The worst case of the above is found in selling one's soul to the devil for the unknown knowledge. There is no going back to the clean life you were once known for. Identities are forever changing and growing as decisions are made and views are changed.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Connections
Author's note: While reading through Jekyll and Hyde I found it very apparent that connections can be made from just about every part of the text and everything seemed to be intertwined. However I also realized that these things are not just apparent in novels but everyday life as well.
If you have ever pulled apart a simple rope or even a shoestring then you know how something so simple is really created through the combination of an incredible number of tiny strands, all to create a single bond that we see as a single rope. Just like that rope our lives are not simply the makings of bone, and flesh but rather a series of events and influences that shape and twist people; the events, friends, family, memories, downfalls, and achievement that we call ourselves. What you view from the outside is only the beginning of that rope. As you follow those strands deeper it is no secret that there are many more strands to be found showing that everyone is completely different than how they might present themselves. Each person has a different character, a different personality, and maybe even a past of misery, despair, or even greatness, that they choose to hide among the innermost parts of that rope. Just like that thick strong rope we all have frays and connections that intertwine themselves deep inside the simple outside providing much more meaning than the rope shows.
If you have ever pulled apart a simple rope or even a shoestring then you know how something so simple is really created through the combination of an incredible number of tiny strands, all to create a single bond that we see as a single rope. Just like that rope our lives are not simply the makings of bone, and flesh but rather a series of events and influences that shape and twist people; the events, friends, family, memories, downfalls, and achievement that we call ourselves. What you view from the outside is only the beginning of that rope. As you follow those strands deeper it is no secret that there are many more strands to be found showing that everyone is completely different than how they might present themselves. Each person has a different character, a different personality, and maybe even a past of misery, despair, or even greatness, that they choose to hide among the innermost parts of that rope. Just like that thick strong rope we all have frays and connections that intertwine themselves deep inside the simple outside providing much more meaning than the rope shows.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
The Package
Author's note: Response to the human nature portrayed through the occurances in chapter's 5,6 and 7 in Jeckyl and Hyde.
"It is one thing to mortify curiosity, another to conquer it; and it may doubted if, from that day forth". Curiosity is a simple but powerful strain on the human mind. It is relentless in it's attack and in the majority of instances, prevails. The myth of Pandora's Box peers into this idea by expressing that curiousity can open the door for evil and leave only hope for us to hold on to. It has been said that without hope you possess nothing but in reality does it actually deceive us? Does hope provide a false pretense for the inevitable evil that looms overhead? For such reasons it is impossible to bury curiosity into the depths of the brain. It will always be there to provide the motive to search on and to find the answer that you only "hope" is there.
"It is one thing to mortify curiosity, another to conquer it; and it may doubted if, from that day forth". Curiosity is a simple but powerful strain on the human mind. It is relentless in it's attack and in the majority of instances, prevails. The myth of Pandora's Box peers into this idea by expressing that curiousity can open the door for evil and leave only hope for us to hold on to. It has been said that without hope you possess nothing but in reality does it actually deceive us? Does hope provide a false pretense for the inevitable evil that looms overhead? For such reasons it is impossible to bury curiosity into the depths of the brain. It will always be there to provide the motive to search on and to find the answer that you only "hope" is there.
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